The Symphony No. 7, nicknamed "The Song of the Night," is widely regarded as the most enigmatic of Mahler's cycle and the most difficult to coherently interpret as a symphonic structure, even by this composer's extraordinary standards. The movements are undeniably Mahlerian in their abrupt mood swings and ironic twists, and each offers a wealth of fantastic ideas and brilliant orchestration – arguably the most innovative sounds in all of Mahler's works.

Light is the ideal follow up to Vanessa Benelli Mosells debut album on Decca, [R]evolution. This new album includes music by Alexander Scriabin as well as by her mentor, Karlheinz Stockhausen, thus putting together two composers both considered visionaries in their respective different historical periods.

A milestone of music making, this 4 CD boxed set collects Maurice Ravel’s lush orchestral oeuvre in a collection of defining performances conducted by Pierre Boulez. A vivid testament to the ineffable incalculable role a conductor fills in any interpretation, ‘Pierre Boulez Conducts Ravel’ includes many of Ravel’s best known compositions along with the valuable addition of less recorded and long out of print gems such as Jessye Norman’s luminous Chansons Madécasses with members of Ensemble InterContemporaín and the Piano Concerto in D major for the Left Hand, played thrillingly here by Phillipe Entremont with an inspired lights out Cleveland Orchestra. Boulez’s prowess with the music of Ravel takes many forms, robust, muscular, capable of great tenderness, inquisitive, insouciant, and this collection of almost 5 hours of music allows one to immerse completely within the rich motherlode of genius that was Maurice Ravel. Includes informative 28-page booklet.

Originating in 1969 with a short melodic fragment that grew into an elaborate piece that runs well over an hour, Karlheinz Stockhausen's Mantra for two pianos and electronics is recognized as one of his major keyboard works and an example of his increasingly liberal use of serial methods. The central idea operates on many levels throughout the composition, and the organization of Stockhausen's 13-pitch series a twelve-tone row with the first note repeated at the end takes place on small and large scales, with some permutations of the motive or "mantra" extending over so much time that their relationships become imperceptible.

In celebration of Swiss conductor Paul Sacher's 90th birthday, Pierre Boulez composed Sur Incises, a two-movement work for pianos, harps, and a wide range of percussion instruments. The Boulez Ensemble captures the celebratory essence of this composition through their historical knowledge and prior experience playing Boulez's works.

Official Release #39. Having recorded some works with a large orchestra in January 1983, in January 1984, Frank Zappa arranged for some of his chamber works to be performed by Pierre Boulez's Ensemble InterContemporain, a 16-piece group. "The Perfect Stranger," "Naval Aviation In Art?," and "Dupree's Paradise" were given this treatment, and the four remaining tracks are the product of Zappa's music synthesizer, the Synclavier. As usual, Zappa's "serious" works are rhythmically interesting and make for challenging listening.

Our collection is called “Caprice” in honor of Thierry Lancino’s Cinq Caprices, adapted for flute and piano especially for this recording. The collection is an homage to Pierre Boulez and his life-changing, challenging, ironic, and capricious "Sonatine pour flute et piano", written in 1946. Both Paavali Jumppanen and I had the great good luck to work with Pierre Boulez in our formative years, so when we started to perform together it was obvious that the Sonatine would be a central part of our repertoire and that a recording would follow.